Name: Sarathy Korwar
Nationality: US-born, Indian-raised, London-based
Occupation: Drummer, percussionist, composer, bandleader
Current event: Sarathy Korwar is one of the artists at the South Asian Sounds Festival as presented by Asian Arts Agency. For his concert on March 10th 2024, Sarathy will collaborate with sound artist, nature beatboxer, producer, and DJ Jason Singh. More about that performance here. 



[Read our Jason Singh interview about the South Asian Sounds Festival]
[Read our Jason Singh interview about Plant Music and Interspecies Communication]

If you enjoyed these thoughts by Sarathy Korwar, visit his official homepage for more information. He is also on Instagram, and Facebook. For a deeper dive:

[Read our earlier Sarathy Korwar interview about improvisation]
[Read our Sarathy Korwar interview about his album KALAK]
[Read our Sarathy Korwar interview about drumming]



Tell me a bit about you went about planning and programming your performances at the South Asian Sounds, please.

I have been playing with the trio that I’ll be presenting at South Asian Sounds gig for a very long time. We started playing together in 2016 and they’ve played on various albums of mine including Day to Day (2016), More Arriving (2019) and KALAK (2022)



The musicians are ones I admire, and I enjoy spending time with on and off stage. They are Al McSween – synthesizers and Tamar Osborn on saxophone and flute.  

It was quite easy to decide what set up to bring to the concert. We’ve been touring this music a lot over the last couple of years. I usually try to beef up the band for London but decided that this time the three were enough, we know each other really well and we’re going to make it sound amazing!  

It’s also been great working with Asian Arts Agency to help create and coordinate our events as well as the shared stage with Jason Singh.

What do you look forward to most in terms of playing at the festival?
 
I’m really looking forward to bringing this trio’s sound to the festival and also sharing the stage and night with my close friend Jason Singh.

His band also includes people who I’ve played with and collaborated with since 2013, the whole night will really feel like a family affair and I’m really looking forward to spending time with people I haven’t seen in a while!

One of the festival's self-declared goal is to highlight the talent of the South Asian diaspora. Can you please tell us a bit about your own sense of identity as part of this diaspora and how it motivated you to take an artistic path? In which way do you feel does this identity concretely influence your creativity?

As a first generation immigrant to the UK, I spent most of my early years (until I was 22) in India. My understanding of what it means to be South Asian is perhaps very different to those who grew up here who consider themselves British Asian.

What’s interesting and important to remember is that everyone’s personal history and ideas about what it means to be part of the diaspora are and should be very different and it is important to not stereotype any single experience to be the be all of all south Asian identity.

My identity obviously influences my creativity to the extent where I don’t need to think about it proactively. What’s great about making any kind of art is all the intangibles and the things you can’t articulate about your identity.

For example it can come through in ways that feel genuine and personal, and can help you connect with people, just by being yourself which of course means being South Asian but also means being so many other things.

Does the prospect of playing at South Asian Sounds feel different to you compared to other festivals?

Yes and no – it feels great to be part of an event that celebrates different kinds of South Asian culture and that brings together so many types of music all under the banner of South Asian music which hopefully helps diversify and represent the music of the diaspora as well as from South Asia itself.

So whilst I’m happy to be part of this line up, at the same time it is a music festival. So to see it solely through a South Asian lens wouldn’t be fair to all the amazing music that will be seen on stage.

Asia's culture is fascinating and mind-boggling. How would you describe the current South Asian music scene and some of the most interesting artists to you personally?

The current South Asian music scene is difficult to pin down as to what that means. There are so many incredible musicians and producers and artists who are doing a variety of different things that can’t be pigeonholed into one scene just because they’re South Asian.

Currently on my playlist are Arooj Aftab. Sheherazaad is a singer from New York. Lifafa from New Delhi is an incredible producer.

[Read our Arooj Aftab interview]